EmulatorJS vs RetroArch
EmulatorJS
emulatorjs.orgRetroArch
retroarch.comSide by side
| Figure | EmulatorJS | RetroArch |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Boy Advance Emulators | 8.1 (#7) | 8.3 (#4) |
| Spec score · Emulation Frontends | 8.1 (#7) | 8.4 (#6) |
| Spec score · Sega Genesis Emulators | 8.0 (#9) | 8.3 (#7) |
| Spec score · Multi-System Emulators | 8.0 (#21) | 8.3 (#14) |
| Spec score · Sega CD Emulators | 8.1 (#10) | 8.3 (#8) |
| Open source | The official site describes EmulatorJS as open source. | RetroArch/Libretro is an open-source project that has been around since 2012. |
| Purpose | EmulatorJS is a web-based frontend for RetroArch that lets users embed an emulator in a website. | RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players that runs classic games through a graphical interface with unified settings. |
| Support | The project directs users to report issues on GitHub and include browser console logs and the version they use. | The FAQ directs users to the forums, Discord and documentation for help. |
Plans
In their own words
EmulatorJS
EmulatorJS is a free, open-source frontend for RetroArch that lets a site owner embed an emulator in a web page. The project provides a code generator, and says the resulting embed can be added with a few lines of code. EmulatorJS uses RetroArch’s libretro cores to run games. Its supported systems documentation includes NES, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PSP, Sega systems, and Commodore systems, though the project warns that this list may be out of date. Built-in options allow customization, and multiple languages are supported. The project describes EmulatorJS as a library or plugin rather than a standalone website, and it does not provide a Docker container. A public CDN offers paths labeled stable, latest, and nightly. The listed platforms are web, Android, iOS, and self-hosted. Pages must be served through a web server; opening an HTML file directly is unsupported. Threaded cores may improve performance, but need SharedArrayBuffer enabled through COOP and COEP response headers. The 4.3.0-pre release is marked as a prerelease and is discouraged for production use where stability is needed.
RetroArch
RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines, and media players, bringing them under a unified settings system. The RetroArch/Libretro project includes more than 200 cores across those categories. Its menu can group scanned games by system and display thumbnails and animated backgrounds. Common game controllers configure automatically when plugged in, and button actions can also be assigned manually.
Stackable shaders can change rendered graphics or imitate the look of CRT monitors. Built-in netplay supports hosting or joining network gaming sessions, including spectator mode. RetroArch can record gameplay to video files and stream games to Twitch or YouTube. Versions are listed for Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, and web browsers. RetroArch is free and open source under GPL version 3; the libretro API uses an MIT license. Features differ by platform and store version: the browser edition has lower performance and fewer capabilities than the full version, while Steam lacks Core Updater and thumbnail scraping and offers a selected core set.